I am toying with the idea of having a barrel that I can use as a handgun in our southern shotgun zone, but also could mount a buttstock on and use as a carbine while hunting in the northern rifle zone here in Michigan. The problem is that I am not sure of the total length requirement for a carbine to be legal, although I know that the minimum barrel length is 16â€.

The second issue I have is how would I go about mounting a scope that could be used for both carbine and handgun applications??? I know I would have to go with an extended eye-relief model for use on the handgun, but then I'm affraid it would be too close to my eye when used with the buttstock on the carbine???

I am leaning towards a .460 S&W because in order to use a handgun in our shotgun zone, it must be straight walled. I think that is the DNR's way to not allow "rifle" catridges out of handguns. Plus, this would make for a nice little swamp/timber carbine up in the rifle zone.

Any thoughts or ideas would be most appreciated!

Mark

for scope problem you can use a weaver style base and use Warne QR rings on a rifle and pistol scope. You and sight them in and remove and replace then as needed. You might look at the 444 marlin.

Sounds like you have your "rulebeater" (in MN any cartridge may be chambered in a handgun and still be legal in the shotgun zone) all sorted out. If T/C ever offers the Katahdin accessory barrel in 460 then you might save some coin by buying COTS instead of custom. Right now your choices seem to be 450 Marlin or 45/70 - maybe the F&G regards them as straight cases. The Fox Ridge Custom Shop offer a variety of straight-cased chamberings in a 16-1/4 tube. FWIW I've have good results using the Leupold QRS mounts and rings (on rifles at least). Good hunting!

MIBIGHNTR, according to MI firearms laws:
“Pistol†means a loaded or unloaded firearm that is 30 inches or less in length, or a loaded or unloaded firearm that by
its construction and appearance conceals it as a firearm.
“Rifle†means a firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.
(k) “Short-barreled rifle†means a rifle having 1 or more barrels less than 16 inches in length or a weapon made from a rifle, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if the weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
So, you would have to find a 16" plus length barrel for your "pistol" and at the same time, be able to attach a stock to it to get you past the 26" minimum length to not be a SBR... All of this while firing a straight walled case as you already know...
I am not sure that such a beast exists..?
This is a PERFECT excuse to go out and get yourself a .44mag revolver for "down state" hunting as well as "up north" if you want... I hunt with a .454 Casull revolver in MI, and if you can handle the recoil of it, I would highly suggest it over the .44 mag, which I also own one of... Legacy arms also makes .44mag & .454 Casull lever guns, which I own a stainless .454 one of those too... Now THAT'S a "brush gun" with 300g bullets!

quote:

So, you would have to find a 16" plus length barrel for your "pistol" and at the same time, be able to attach a stock to it to get you past the 26" minimum length to not be a SBR... All of this while firing a straight walled case as you already know...
I am not sure that such a beast exists..?

PJS50, A Thompson/Center Contender or Encore passes that test quite neatly with a 16-1/4 inch barrel by simply swapping the pistol grip for a butt stock. It's definately a "handgun" rather than a "pistol" by any practical definition, but legally it passes...

MIBIGHNTR, Sorry I didn't think of it before...a red dot sight is not affected by eye relief. You can mount it, zero it, leave it be all season.

MB,
Does Thompson make 16+" barrels in a straight-walled caliber other than .45-70? I have a Contender that I also deer hunt with but that is usually my .30-30 cal and the barrel on it is only 14", so if I stocked it, I would have a SBR problem... I also have a .44 Mag barrel for it but that isn't 16"+ long either...
I looked on their site and for the Contender, .45-70 is the only caliber for that frame and they are 16-1/4" or 23" long (for the rifles).
For the Encore, there is only .45-70, and it is a rifle barrel which is 24"long... That "may" put you over 30" OAL on their pistol frame?
This is why I first mentioned, "that beast may not exist"... .45-70 looks to be the only "possibility"...

quote:

Does Thompson make 16+" barrels in a straight-walled caliber other than .45-70?

The Encore Katahdin barrel (18-1/2 inch with a muzzle brake) comes in 45/70 and 450 Marlin. T/C used to make a 16-1/4 Contender barrel in a variety of chamberings, including 44 magnum and 45/70. The T/C Custom Shop (Fox Ridge Outfitters) will make a 16-1/4 inch tube for either frame in 357 magnum, 357 maximum, 375 Win, 38/55, 44 magnum, 445 Supermag, and 45/70. They will also make Encore barrels in 405 Winchester, 444 Marlin, and 450 Marlin. Then there are all the custom houses... Good hunting!

Just a note here. I have a 16 1/4" 250 Sav barrel for my Encore. I bought that length to do as you are planning. I have never got around to shooting this as a handgun though I am sure it would make a nice shooting handgun. As a rifle this barrel makes out to be just over 30" long. It is very nice to carry in the woods. I opted for a heavy taper on this and my 20" 350 Rem Mag just to have a little extra weight on the forward hand. I feel it steadies better than my buddies 7-08 factory barrel that he had lopped off to 16 1/4".

It would seem to me that if you are getting a 2fer in the gun department you could spring for a rifle scope. If you just leave each scope in its own rings your zero should remain reasonably close and you should check zero when you change to a rifle butt stock anyway. Sean